Untameable Seas
by SarcasticPerson
Summary: Semi – AU. Percy is a homeless half-blood, who was forced to run away from home when he was five, and has been sleeping rough ever since. When Grover and Annabeth find him, he won't trust anyone, and definitely doesn't want to come to this 'camp' with them. Will they ever gain his trust? Told in Annabeth's POV. Set during The Lightning Thief.
1. Chapter 1

**Untameable Seas**

Summary:

Semi - AU. Percy is a homeless half-blood, who was forced to run away from home when he was five, and has been sleeping rough ever since. When Grover and Annabeth find him, he won't trust anyone, and definitely doesn't want to come to this 'camp' with them. Will they ever gain his trust? Told in Annabeth's POV. Set during The Lightning Thief.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT, repeat DO NOT own anything you recognise. I only contribute the plot. Full credit to Rick Riordan for the amazing series!**

Chapter 1

I saw Grover yesterday for the first time in months. He'd been posted at Yancy Academy, a school for 'troubled' kids in upstate New York. Apparently there wasn't a single half-blood there, which was actually a surprise considering half-bloods definitely count as 'troubled'. He was supposed to transfer at the end of the year, but suddenly he'd appeared back at camp, demanding to speak to Chiron. Looks like he'd finally found something.

Wait, I should probably back up.

My name's Annabeth Chase. I'm twelve years old. I live at Camp Half-Blood, the only safe place in the world for people like me.

Who are we? Half-bloods, otherwise known as demigods. Half mortal, and half Olympian god.

No, I'm not insane, or delusional. The Greek Gods exist, they always have. They're immortal, so when Greece fell, they couldn't die, could they? They just moved around. And now they're in America, and still up to their ancient habits of falling in love with mortals, and producing demigods.

So my mom's Athena. Goddess of wisdom, battle strategy and the useful arts. I don't talk about my mortal family. They don't want me anyway – I ran away when I was seven, and have lived at Camp Half-Blood ever since.

Anyway, that's the crash course on my life. But back to Grover.

See, he's actually a satyr (half man, half goat). His job is to go out into the mortal world and search for other demigods, and bring them safely to camp. This means that him turning up out of the blue like this, demanding to speak to Chiron, is a Big Deal. It probably means he's found someone.

Chiron? He's the activities director at camp. Yes, the same Chiron that trained all the Ancient Greek heroes. He's immortal. And a centaur – which means you try to avoid his rear end.

I saw Grover when he came out of the Big House, and ran over.

'Hey, Grover! What are you doing back? Thought you were supposed to be at school?'

He looked up. 'Hey Annabeth,'

'So, why are you here? Have you found someone? Could they be the –'

Grover cut me off. 'Annabeth, slow down. I don't know. I only saw him for a few minutes, then came straight here.'

I latched onto the information. Hey, I'm not a daughter of the wisdom goddess for nothing!

'So he's powerful? If it only took you a few minutes to tell? Grover, tell me. Could he be the one?'

Grover looked me straight in the eyes. He seemed... afraid.

'He looked stronger than anything I've seen before'.

'But is-'

'Annabeth!' He interrupted exasperatedly. 'I don't know, okay?'

That shut me up. But only for a few minutes. My brain was working at a million miles an hour, processing all the information. Then what he'd said before actually hit me.

'Wait, Grover. You mean he's even stronger than... Thalia?' I asked.

See, Thalia was one of my best friends. I met her and Luke, a son of Hermes, when I was on the run. They became my new family. She was a daughter of Zeus, the king of the gods. So she was really powerful, and strong. But when we reached Half-Blood Hill, the boundary to camp, she told us to run while she distracted the army of monsters.

Yeah, we were popular with the uglies. Unfortunately, the gods weren't the only immortal beings that came to America. All the ancient monsters and demons? They're real too, and really want to kill us demigods.

Anyway, Grover, who had been sent to guide us three to camp, listened to her. He took me and Luke through the camp boundaries, and left Thalia to fight a hundred or so monsters, alone.

She was an awesome fighter, but there were just too many monsters for even her. Eventually, her dad, Zeus, took pity on her as she was dying and turned her into a pine tree. That's fatherly love for you, right? Her tree's still here– it marks the boundary to camp.

Basically, she's a daughter of Zeus. To be as or more powerful than her, this mystery guy must be a son of one of the Big Three – Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades. Which means he must be the one!

I suddenly remembered I had asked Grover a question, and looked up to see what he would say. He was chewing on his lip, the way he always does when he gets nervous.

'Grover?'

'He might be. I don't know, Annabeth. He just reminded me so much of her...'

I knew not to push him anymore. He blamed himself for what happened to Thalia, and it looked like be about to cry.

'That's okay, Grover. What did Chiron say?'

He shook himself out of his thoughts.

'Oh, he wants me to talk to him. You know, get him to come here with me. But...'

'What is it?'

He exhaled in a huff, shaking his head like a... goat.

'I don't think it's going to be as simple as that.'

'Why not?' I asked.

'He's... angry. He doesn't have anyone. I think he's on the run.'

'Like us?'

He just nodded. 'I saw him getting picked on by some of the school bullies. But he just snapped when they said something about his family. There were eight of them, and he just... took them apart!'

My eyes widened of their own accord. 'What?'

'Oh, not literally. But he was incredible. He didn't even use a weapon! And it was so precise, he didn't spill any blood, and he had them all on the ground within a minute!'

I'll admit, I was impressed. Even I couldn't beat that many in less than a minute, and I'd been trained by the best for the last five years. This kid had had no training, no help, and had probably had to teach himself how to survive. Clearly he had taught himself well.

'Okay, so he can fight.' I said slowly, refusing to show any reaction. 'But that's just like Thalia, Luke and I. You got us here.'

That was clearly not the thing to say. His lower lip started trembling.

'Oh no, Grover! Don't cry! I just meant – you can't blame yourself for that!'

He took a few deep breaths and calmed down. He blinked away the moisture in his eyes and stared at me.

'I know you didn't mean it like that, Annabeth. It's fine.'

'So...' I began carefully, 'What did you mean, 'it won't be that simple'? What's different?'

Grover paused for a moment to think.

'He's seen too much. I don't think he trusts anyone, because he's been alone for most of his life.'

'I'm guessing you got this from reading his emotions, not him shouting his life story at you whilst beating up the bullies'.

Thankfully, that produced a smile.

'Yeah. His emotions were so... controlled though. I could barely get anything at first. But when he snapped, it was like a dam had burst. A rushing torrent of hurt, and anger, and hatred. Burning hatred.'

His eyes looked haunted, as if this guy's messed up mind was going to give him nightmares. He clearly didn't want to go back on his own.

Suddenly, a light bulb went on in my mind. I smiled as the idea took shape.

'Hey, Grover. If you want, I'll ask Chiron if I can go with you. Two heads are better than one, right?'

His face lit up. It made me smile even wider, knowing he liked the idea.

'Gods, Annabeth, could you? That would be so much better...' But then his smile dropped. 'Will Chiron let you, though? He never has before.'

I frowned, it was true. I had been here longer than almost anyone, but Chiron still thought I was too young to go on any quests.

'I'll convince him. It's not like it's going to be that dangerous, he's just another half-blood.' _Who might be the most powerful we've ever seen..._

But I didn't say that to Grover. He looked so grateful.

We said our goodbyes, and I promised to tell him the result as soon as Chiron let me go.

I strode down to the Big House as soon as Grover walked away. I didn't want to delay it, I'd just get nervous.

I could hear Grover in my head, '_Annabeth, nervous? Don't make me laugh'_. But when it came to Chiron, I was. He was like a father to me, and I didn't want to make him angry. One of my worst fears was that I would disappoint him.

So anyway, I found Chiron in his office. The walls are covered in all these photos and articles about demigods he's trained. I recognised a few faces - some from history, some who I lived with. He was staring at the wall sadly, as if we were all already dead.

Not an encouraging start.

'Chiron?' I said quietly, which seemed to jolt him out of his stupor. He turned and smiled kindly at me, but I could see he was trying to hide something.

'What is it, Annabeth? Something on your mind?'

'I...' I stared at the wall, 'What were you doing?'

He looked surprised, but quickly covered it up. 'Just... thinking,' he said vaguely, and gestured at me to sit down. 'Was there something you wanted to talk about?'

I knew I should ask about the trip, for Grover, but I hated it when he kept things from me.

'What were you thinking about? The Great Prophecy?' I asked. Only one thing ever got him this miserable.

He looked at me sternly. 'Don't worry about it Annabeth, I'm sure it's nothing.'

'But-'

'Just leave it, Annabeth. What did you come here to ask me?' He said, slightly impatiently. Not angry – Chiron never gets angry with me – but just a little irritated. I was irritated too – he _was_ hiding something!

But instead of pushing him, I just huffed and returned to what my original purpose here was.

'I was talking to Grover earlier,' I began. Chiron nodded, but his eyes were hard. I had the feeling he knew what I was going to ask. 'Well, this half-blood he's found, he didn't want to go alone to bring him back, because he thinks this one is really powerful, and angry, so I-'

'So you want to go with him.' Chiron finished for me. Yep, he'd known all right. I just nodded.

'You want to go with Grover, to fetch this demigod,' I nodded again. 'Out in the mortal world.' he finished. I nodded again, but didn't meet his eyes.

'Annabeth, you know how I feel about you leaving...' he began, and I knew he was going to refuse. I stood up, my eyes burning.

'Because you don't think I'm good enough! Because you think, even though I've had more experience than most of this camp put together, I'm_ too young_! Well I'm not, Chiron. You need to let me out sometime!'

I felt guilty for the outburst, but I wasn't going to concede the point. I believed everything I'd said.

Chiron just looked at me sadly, and it was then – looking into his eyes, those eyes that had seen so much - that I realised he'd seen a lot of demigods come and go, and more had left than come back. I suddenly understood why he'd not wanted me to leave. It wasn't that he thought I wasn't good enough – he just didn't want to lose another camper.

I sat down again. 'I still want to go,' I muttered.

Chiron sighed, 'I know you do, and I know you are capable of handling yourself Annabeth. I just don't want to put you in danger'.

'But Grover needs me there! And it won't be that dangerous, it's just a retrieval mission,' I said, looking up at him hopefully.

He looked into my eyes for a long time, as if searching my mind for the truth. Then finally, slowly, he nodded.

'Very well. I know I won't be able to convince you otherwise on this one.'

I jumped out of my seat again, but this time in happiness, and disbelief.

'What? You're really going to let me go?' I asked, shocked.

He laughed at my expression. 'Yes,' he said, and shooed me away with his hands. 'Now go pack, before I change my mind'.

I ran out of there, and went straight to the canoe lake, where I'd said I'd meet Grover. He was sitting on the bank, dangling his furry legs in the water. I think he'd assumed Chiron would say no, because he was staring dejectedly at the surface of the lake, and every so often kicking one of his legs out angrily.

I walked up to sit beside him. I didn't say anything at first, and it took Grover a while to actually notice me sitting right beside him.

He suddenly jumped, pulling his legs out of the water and standing in one movement. Soaking me in the process.

'Grover!' I shouted, water dripping from my clothes.

'Oh gods, Annabeth, I'm so sorry,' he said, and kept mumbling under his breath, and promising to get me a new shirt, and so on.

'Grover, stop. I'm fine. It's only water, it'll wash out.'

That seemed to reassure him for a bit.

'Oh, okay then. That's alright.' Then his eyes widened. 'Wait Annabeth, did you talk to Chiron? What did he say?'

I smiled at him mischievously, 'He said yes! I can come with you!'

His eyes, if it were possible, got even wider. I worried absently whether they would fall out. Blame the ADHD. Most demigods have it. It makes us fidgety and inattentive, but also saves our lives on the battlefield – when our reflexes sharpen by about a hundred times.

We have dyslexia too. It's another demigod thing – we find it difficult to read, the words just spin off the page when we try to concentrate. That's because our minds are hardwired for Ancient Greek, not English.

'Really?' Grover exclaimed, shaking me out of my thoughts, 'I thought – but that's... Annabeth, that's great! We need to pack, and get supplies, and...'

He rambled on excitedly, and I just laughed and let him drag me back up to the cabins. There's one for each of the twelve Olympian gods. Mine's number six – for Athena. Duh.

I cut Grover off as we reached my door, and stopped him following me in 'Actually Grover, first I need to change out of these,' I pointed out, gesturing to my sodden clothes.

He stuttered a bit, and blushed. He's so shy.

'Oh, of course. Yeah, you do that. I'll just, um... wait out here. Yeah, I'll wait for you,' he mumbled.

'I'll come get you when I'm done,' I told him, and lightly pushed him away from the door. 'Don't go anywhere!' I called as I walked into my cabin.

This was it. I was leaving Camp Half-Blood for the first time since I had first arrived – as a scared, nervous seven-year old, crying as I saw my best friend turned into a Christmas decoration.

Now I was going out into the mortal world as an independent, strong twelve-year-old, who had been training to do this for five years. I was ready.

This time, nothing will stop me.

* * *

**AN: I know this chapter isn't particularly thrilling, but I needed to set everything up. I wanted this to be like an alternative to the Lightning Thief. So... good idea/bad idea? I bet you can all guess who our mystery guy is... especially seeing as it's in the summary ;) Apologies if anyone's OOC - it was difficult trying to write as a twelve-year-old Annabeth! Next chapter will me up soon - Annabeth and Grover meet our mystery man! Reviews appreciated :D**

**SarcasticPerson.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I'm SO sorry it took so long for me to update! I know, I'm a horrible person, but please don't hate me too much. Thank you so much to everyone who alerted, favourited and reviewed - it means so much to a newbie writer like me! I have to thank _chronos the cookie thief_ (awesome name by the way) for PMing me - it made me feel so guilty for leaving you all hanging :(. Also _Alexander Kreof_, your review was definitely motivation to update - I don't have any intention of having my eyes ripped out anytime soon ;) But thanks to everyone, you make it such a joy to write.  
**

**Also - I apologise in advance for my references to places in NYC. I have never been there, so I relied on Google Maps to find some likely places. I will happily accept any alternative recommendations from anyone who knows the area better than me!  
**

**Sorry for such a long AN, I know the only thing you're really here for is the story. So, I hope you enjoy!  
**

**DISCLAIMER: Christmas has come and gone, but Percy Jackson and everything you recognise still DO NOT belong to me. I only claim credit for the plot.  
**

* * *

**Untameable Seas**

Summary:

Semi – AU. Percy is a homeless half-blood, who was forced to run away from home when he was five, and has been sleeping rough ever since. When Grover and Annabeth find him, he won't trust anyone, and definitely doesn't want to come to this 'camp' with them. Will they ever gain his trust? Told in Annabeth's POV. Set during The Lightning Thief.

Chapter 2

I was right.

This trip wasn't dangerous – it was the complete opposite. It was _so very dull_.

I was posing as a transfer student to Grover's school: Yancy Academy. We thought that was probably the easiest way to be able to look for our half-blood candidate, and still have somewhere to stay.

Unfortunately, the problem with pretending to go to school was that, well, you had to go to school.

Don't get me wrong – I normally like school. I actually missed it at Camp Half-Blood, being a child of Athena and all, but this school was different.

Yancy Academy, as I said before, is a school for '_troubled_' kids. Basically meaning they all think they're really cool and tough, because they've been kicked out of numerous schools.

I didn't think that was cool. According to the summer campers I talk to, that's life for a half-blood. We're always targeted by monsters, so staying in one place for too long never really works – that is, if you don't get kicked out before you can leave.

Anyway, that sort of attitude didn't make me the most popular new girl. Although, at least I had Grover. He was here all year, and apparently he didn't have any friends; he was bullied. That made me feel really bad, but luckily Grover just waved my sympathy off and said it was normal for satyrs. It didn't stop me feeling guilty though, for envying the satyrs for being able to go out into the mortal world. I hadn't realised it was so cruel.

But back to the point. We had to go to lessons and pretend to be regular Yancy students, and then every evening and weekend we snuck out to look for our mystery guy.

So far, no luck.

We had been here for three weeks now, and we still had nothing to tell Chiron. We IM-ed him every night, just so he knew we were still alive, and also to tell him how the search was going. It was a bit depressing, having to tell him we had nothing, night after night.

Some of the Yancy kids were getting suspicious too. At first, when they noticed we kept disappearing, they thought we were dating. The very idea made me laugh when I was cornered by a group of 'popular' girls who were trying to scare me. But now I think they suspected something. Of course, it wouldn't be the truth. Grover was right, there were definitely no half-bloods here, and the fact that two students keep sneaking out doesn't exactly lend itself to the conclusion that the Greek gods are real.

So we needed results, so we could get this stupid play-act over with and go back to camp. Strange, that although I'd been begging Chiron for years to let me visit the mortal world, now I was here all I wanted to do was leave again.

Grover and I were sitting in the cafeteria at lunch, alone of course, on Friday. By the end of this week, we were determined to have _something_ to tell Chiron.

Suddenly, the cafeteria doors thudded open, and the group of 'popular' boys entered. Half the girls in the room suddenly went silent, and blushed into their pasta.

_Pathetic_. I thought. None of the boys were even that handsome, and a few of them looked like they'd been in a fight recently. They were trying to make it look impressive, that they'd been dumb enough to have a brawl, but all I could think was how badly they must have been beaten.

The guy at the front was sporting a huge black-eye, and wasn't using his right arm at all. It hung limply at his side. A couple of the others were limping, and the last one looked dazed, as if he'd taken a heavy hit to the head and could still see stars. I knew the signs – enough people at camp get knocked out in training for me to be able to tell. Only thing was, that normally only lasted a maximum of half-an-hour. This must have happened last night, and yet the guy still looked as though he was away with the fairies.

I frowned, and shared a look with Grover. He nodded, confirming my suspicions. This was the same group that had tried to beat up our mystery guy. They'd clearly had another talk with him.

'Grover, we need to hear what they're saying!' I said.

He nodded. 'Use your Yankees cap. Pretend to go to the bathroom or something,'

It was a good idea. My mom had given me a magical baseball cap, which made the wearer invisible. It had been a twelfth birthday present.

I said I'd meet him back at his room, so he didn't have to stay here on his own. I looked over at the group, and saw the 'popular' girls were going over to them. This was my chance. I quickly strode to the toilets in the corner of the cafeteria, put on the hat and came straight back out again.

Now, the difficult bit. Getting to their table without barging into anyone was going to be tricky with so many students in the cafeteria. I scanned the room quickly for anything that could help. Then, I smiled.

It was a bit tricky to get up, but eventually I was stood on the glass roof of one of the many food counters. They stretched ahead in a straight line directly to their table. I lightly jogged across, and jumped down. Then it was simply a matter of crawling under the nearest table, and listening.

This is where I envied Grover his incredible satyr hearing. It would have been easy for him, but I hadn't thought to give him my cap. I was a little possessive of it, seeing as it was the only thing my mom had ever given me. Never mind. I was close enough to manage.

'-so brave of you!' I heard one of the girls gushing. It made me cringe.

'It was nothin'. We don't want that sort around here. They're just scum that no one that wants around,' I heard one of the gang say. _They?_ I thought, but then smirked. This mystery kid had wounded the group's pride. They couldn't face being beaten by one lonesome homeless kid, so they had invented an entire group. I was so busy trying not to laugh; I almost missed what was said next.

'-were there?' another 'popular' girl was asking.

'Oh there was this massive gang of them. There must've been twenty of 'em. Probably too afraid to wander around alone, eh?' The same guy said. He must be the leader. The others laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, impressed by his wit.

I could barely contain a snort at the irony of his statement. That gang are never seen apart, and they were taken apart by one rogue half-blood, who doesn't know he's a half-blood, and they're accusing _him_ of being afraid of wandering around alone?

'Wow, you were so brave to take them on!' Barbie 1 was repeating herself. 'I can't believe we've never seen them before, if there're so many of them.'

I could tell from the pause that the gang was trying to think of an answer that didn't contradict their explanation of events. Their puny brains were probably struggling to get past the initial 'Uh oh'.

It was a long pause.

'Uh... Well it wasn't that close. They're sleeping rough down at Battery Park.' one of them finally answered.

The popular girls accepted the excuse straight away. They carried on gushing, asking for blow-by-blow accounts and demonstrations. I realised I wasn't going to get anything else from this conversation.

I climbed out from underneath my table, and left the cafeteria – trying to avoid everyone again. I think there was a 5th grader who will be forever confused as to why her books suddenly threw themselves on the floor. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I went to meet Grover in his room. He should probably stop looking quite so unconcerned by invisible people knocking on his door – it makes him perfect for pranks.

I stepped past him into the room – which was thankfully empty except for us – and turned to face him.

'Grover!' I stage-whispered, 'Shut the door already!'

The poor goat jumped about a foot. He was still staring at the corridor when I spoke, so I don't think he realised I was already in.

'Sorry!' I said, whipping off the hat. I sat down on his bed and waited as he shut the door and turned back to face me.

'Gods Annabeth, you terrified me half to death!' he said, putting a hand over his heart dramatically.

'I said sorry! Stop being such a drama queen Grover,' I said teasingly.

He walked over to lean against a post on the bunk bed opposite his. 'So... did you find anything out?' he asked.

'It was definitely our guy. They were pretending there was a gang of twenty to impress the girls though,' I paused, and mimed gagging slightly, which made Grover smile, 'And they said he was staying down at Battery Park, although that might have been a lie to back up their story.'

Grover looked thoughtful, 'Well, we might as well check out Battery Park. It's not like we've got any other ideas,' he said.

'Could do. We should keep an eye on those boys as well, in case they go find him again. Especially if they were lying about Battery Park'. I agreed.

Plans made, we parted ways to go to our afternoon lessons.

*** TIME JUMP ***

I met up with Grover just outside the school grounds, as usual. For a school for supposed delinquents, the security is awful. At one point the only boundary is a foot-deep hedge, which obviously didn't bother us much. Grover's woodland magic might not be the best, but I can reliably inform you that branches and leaves are not the most resistant of materials to a celestial bronze dagger.

Although, I intend to do some research when I get back to camp on how celestial bronze can defeat trees, but not mortals.

Back to more pressing matters though, and it turned out whichever god or goddess controlled luck was in a good mood that evening. As we were heading away from school, we ran into our favourite crowd of bullies. Or at least, spotted them sneaking out of the grounds with a whole lot less grace and dignity than we had.

They obviously hadn't taken well to having their butts kicked by one lone kid. Twice.

Normally I would have to fight a glare every time I saw even one of them – not that they ever went anywhere on their own – but this time I had to stop myself from grinning like a maniac. This was going to make our job so much easier.

Grover seemed to be following my train of thought, and we shared a brief smile before quickly following our new best friends.

They led us to an alleyway barely five minutes from Yancy Academy. We'd saved ourselves a long walk as well – this was getting better and better.

The leader of the group stepped into the alleyway first, straightening his shoulders before shouting into the darkness.

'Hey, freak! We know you're in there, why're you hiding? Scared to face us like a man?'

I had to stifle a snort at that. It had probably taken him hours to compose that speech. And the idea that they were braver than this kid? Don't make me laugh.

But then I saw a shadow move at the back of the alleyway. The dim streetlights cast a huge silhouette on the rear wall of the alley, as the reason we were here rose and stepped into the light.

The leader stepped back nervously to blend back into the lines of his friends, but was left looking lost when he realised they had backed away too. His head whipped back around to face the alley as a voice spoke from the shadows.

'Are you sure you want to do this again? You just interrupted my nap.'

* * *

**AN: Please don't kill me! Epic Percy-ness will be up soon! (Feel free to rant at me to update if it's not).**

**As always, I'd love to know what you think. Please leave a review if you have anything you want to say, and I will try to accomodate any constructive criticism. **

**Hope you all enjoyed the holidays and are enjoying 2013 so far!  
**

**SarcasticPerson  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Okay, I give up apologising every time, although it still counts (I am sorry). I know I'm a crappy updater, but I promise you this story will be finished... however long it may take. Thank you all for the reviews, the favourites and the alerts etc. And I'll just shut up now and let you read what I made you wait far too long for. Hope you like it!**

**DISCLAIMER: Everything to do with Percy Jackson and co. all came from Rick Riordan - only the plot is mine.**

* * *

**Untameable Seas**

Summary:

Semi – AU. Percy is a homeless half-blood, who was forced to run away from home when he was five, and has been sleeping rough ever since. When Grover and Annabeth find him, he won't trust anyone, and definitely doesn't want to come to this 'camp' with them. Will they ever gain his trust? Told in Annabeth's POV. Set during The Lightning Thief.

Chapter 3

_'Are you sure you want to do this again? You just interrupted my nap.'_

Seeing how badly our oh-so-masculine gang of bullies flinched when the guy spoke would have been hilarious in any other situation, but I was too busy staring into the shadows. The entire reason for our field trip was in that alley, and I wanted to see what it was that had made Grover freak so badly.

He stepped towards us slowly, and the gang hastened to straighten up and look intimidating. Or tried to. It was quite pathetic really, although I'm sure it would have made those Barbies back at Yancy swoon.

I smirked as I imagined what Artemis would have to say about that, when I caught my first proper glimpse of the boy, and I shoved all thoughts of the maiden goddess out of my head.

Grover had told me that he was only around my age, but the boy I was looking at seemed a whole lot older than twelve. Most people overestimate my age, but this guy could have passed for fifteen. He was about 5'4", and clearly fit. Not in the Aphrodite way (maybe a little) – but in the healthy way. His body was toned and lean, and he looked tense, coiled like a snake ready to pounce. His unruly dark hair was swept to the side carelessly, revealing a pair of shockingly green eyes.

Not bright green, more of a sea-green, my brain noted absently while I was too busy staring. I shook myself out of my trance and focused again. _Stupid,_ I told myself, _you need to concentrate_.

The bullies were still huddled together, none of them daring to approach the boy. He smiled and continued to walk out of the alley toward them. Now I could see the too small, dirty black t-shirt, equally stained torn jeans and disintegrating pair of sneakers he was wearing.

He was standing about ten feet from the gang from Yancy now, and I could clearly see the way his eyes were jumping about, and his hands couldn't keep still. A sure sign of ADHD. There was barely any doubt in my mind that Grover had been at least half right. This guy had to be a half-blood, but I still had my doubts that this homeless kid could be anything as powerful as Thalia.

Then he smirked at the bullies, and even from our hiding place I could see them pale.

'Boo,' he said.

And I watched in amazement as more than half of the group turned tail and _ran away_, tripping over their feet in their hurry to get as far from this kid as possible. I stared at Grover, and he looked at me as if to say, _I told you so_. I looked back at the remainder of the gang, which consisted of the leader and three of his most loyal lackeys.

The half-blood sighed, as if in regret, before eyeing the leader warily. Not in a nervous way, but as if he was asking, _Are you really going to be this stupid?_ The leader straightened up and brushed the other three off, in an attempt to look intimidating. True, it did make him taller than our mystery guy, but it clearly didn't faze him in the slightest.

'Di'n't you get our message las' time? You're not wanted around 'ere,' the leader said.

'But unfortunately for you, I don't care if you want me here or not,' the guy replied easily.

The leader frowned, trying to get his one brain cell to think of a witty reply.

'We can make you leave,' he declared. I'm guessing that brain cell couldn't cope.

The guy smirked, 'Because that worked so well the last two times you tried,' he stepped forward and looked meaningfully at the leader's limp right arm, 'And that was when you had both arms, and more friends.'

The leader growled – seriously? – and threw a wide, badly-aimed punch at the half-blood with his left hand. The others followed suit, and fanned out to surround the guy as the fight began.

My eyes widened in concern as the guy was cornered. He easily dodged the punch, but then he smiled, and spread his arms wide.

'We've got a party on our hands,' he said, eyes lighting up. The two bullies at his sides tried to grab his outstretched arms, presumably to hold him still while the leader punched his lights out, but suddenly the guy dropped and rolled backwards, coming up behind the third bully. I watched as he swept his leg around and the bully fell to the ground in an ungainly heap.

He bounced back up to face the remaining three. Before the fourth could stand, the half-blood used him as a springboard, jumping off him and aiming a kick at the leader's chest. The leader went down and the boy casually brushed his hands off, before looking back up at the two left.

They stared back, wide-eyed, clearly hesitating. But then the leader staggered to his feet behind him, and the third lackey was slowly getting back onto his hands and knees. With renewed determination, the two approached.

The half-blood didn't give them a chance to reach him. He ran at them, kicking the first in the knees to double him over before flipping him over his shoulders into the other guy. They both fell to the floor groaning.

The leader suddenly ran at our guy, but he simply ducked and caught the impact on his shoulder, flipping the leader over behind him where he lay winded. The third guy was up again, but before he could do anything the half-blood caught him in the jaw with an elbow, and followed it up with a right hook before kicking him in the stomach, pushing him away.

The leader stood slowly, pointing a wavering fist at the half-blood. 'We will get you,' he promised.

The half-blood just smiled, not even out of breath, 'You want to dye your skin permanently black and blue? Go for it,' he said.

The group retreated, not turning away until they reached the end of the alley, when they broke into a sprint towards the safety and swooning girls of Yancy.

Grover and I didn't move for a full minute, too shocked to even blink. We stayed hidden behind the dustbins, silently watching as the half-blood sighed and dragged a hand across his forehead tiredly, before turning and stepping back towards the darkness of the alley.

I shook myself into mobility and turned to Grover, who met my gaze and nodded. We both knew this was our chance.

We rose slowly, and were about to step out of our hiding place when out of nowhere, we heard a voice.

I swear the temperature in that alleyway dropped a few degrees as whatever it was spoke, raising goosebumps on my spine. Suddenly the shadows looked menacing, threatening even, although I knew it was just my imagination.

'_...Perseus Jackson, we meet again...'_

Well, at least we knew the guy's name now. But then Grover shivered violently, and I had to clamp a hand over his mouth to stop him bleating in fear. He swallowed thickly as I glared at him. We had dropped back down behind the bins again, and Grover's eyes were wide in terror.

I've known this goat for years, and no way is he a wimp, so I knew his special satyr senses were telling him something – and it wasn't good.

'Grover!' I whispered, waving a hand in front of his face, 'What is it?'

He blinked, shaking his head as though to clear it, before turning to face me.

'It's... I think it's...' he murmured, dazed.

'A monster? What is it, Grover?' I insisted.

'It smells almost...like a Kindly One...' he stuttered.

I froze.

_'What?_'

Why on Earth would this Perseus Jackson have one of Hades' torturers after him? What in Zeus' name had this kid _done_?

I looked between the bins, to see Perseus emerge from the shadows again, glaring at something we couldn't see with absolute loathing.

'What _more _could _you_ possibly want from me?' he hissed. 'You chased me from my _mother_, you hunt me for _years_, and when it _just _might seem like I've gotten rid of you at last, you turn up again to make my life _miserable_.'

A mocking laugh echoed in the alley. '_Your father... is to blame for your misery, not I,' _

Perseus gave a bitter laugh in reply. 'My _father_...' he muttered, fiddling with something in his hand. 'He means _nothing_ to me. Do not mention him again.'

_'And yet you helped him... Why deny it? Confess, and we will not harm you,'_

Unbridled fury surged in the Jackson kid's eyes.

'I did _not_ do anything for him! I wouldn't lift a finger to help _him _if he begged me! How many times do I have to tell you – _I don't know what you are talking about_.'

He stressed every word with gritted teeth, clearly furious at the Kindly One's suggestion.

I didn't know what she was talking about either. I was confused, and I don't like being confused.

Something Perseus's father had done had annoyed Hades, and it was getting blamed on the kid. I'm guessing that the dad in this situation was the godly parent, especially after what the guy had said about being driven from his mother.

I scowled at the realisation that I, a daughter of Athena, was missing something here.

The Kindly One didn't seem so happy either – it hissed loudly and moved towards Perseus, allowing Grover and I to see it for the first time.

I backed away from the gap and leant against the bins again, breathing heavily. Seeing that shriveled old hag again after so many years... it brought back horrible memories of fear, and pain, and running. Endless running.

I steeled my nerve and looked at Grover. He was having the same problem, and we took comfort in each others presence. We had made it through then, we could do it now.

We looked back through the gap, to see Perseus was in trouble. The Kindly One had summoned a group of her ugly friends from down under (no offense, Aussies), and Perseus was once again surrounded. Only this time his opponents were huge, black as night, sharp teethed, heavily muscled, and every other threatening adjective there is, hellhounds.

Four of Hades' pet demigod killers were flanking Perseus, enthusiastic for a midnight snack.

He stood tall, still facing the Kindly One, glaring defiantly as he faced a fight even I, gifted with incredible battle strategy and trained for five years by the best there are, would run from.

And this kid had no weapon.

But then he raised the thing that he had been fiddling with, and smirked.

A pen. He was going to fight for his life, with a pen.

I began to stand, to try to help, when suddenly one of the hellhounds lunged, and I winced in sympathy for the demigod. There was nothing Grover or I could do to help – we were too far away and the hellhound was too quick.

And so I watched in amazement as the hellhound turned to dust, and the demigod rose from his crouch with a glittering bronze sword in his hand.

Grover pulled me back down, none too quickly as Perseus swung round in our direction, his sword flashing in the moonlight as another hellhound bit the dust.

Two hellhounds remained, and I rose again to help when both lunged at once.

But then I had to suppress a laugh when Perseus just smiled, ducked, and rolled, leaving the two hellhounds to crash into each other mid-air and fall to the ground, dazed. A quick spin, slash and thrust before two more canine souls were on their way to Tartarus.

But as Percy straightened and dusted the remains of the hellhounds off his sword and clothes, I realised something he clearly hadn't.

The Kindly One was still alive. But she wasn't at the mouth of the alley anymore. I ran forward, ripping my dagger from its sheath and diving towards Perseus' unprotected back.

Just in time to impale the Kindly One before it could claw him to shreds.

An earth-shattering scream split the air between Perseus and I, and was still ringing in my ears as the last of the dust fluttered slowly to the ground.

Perseus turned around slowly, still holding his wickedly sharp bronze sword. Our eyes met.

Then I realised I was still pointing my dagger at him. Oops.

* * *

**AN: I feel really evil with all these cliffhangers, but they just happen! So, I wrote over 2000 words (just), which I hope will be a minimum for me, to make up for really slow updating. **

**It will make me very happy - and make me update faster - if you guys leave a review telling me what you think, or even just nagging me to update ;). **

**Also - to chronos the cookie thief, I don't plan on putting any Percy POV in here, mainly because it's what it says on the tin (Annabeth's POV). My actual reason for making it Annabeth's POV is to make it a bit different, and to make Percy a mystery. That's what half the plot is about, and if you knew exactly what was going on inside his head he wouldn't be very mysterious now, would he? I hope what I/Annabeth write about what he does and what he says will be enough to hint at what he's actually thinking. Thanks for the question though - it proves you're actually paying attention!**

**Also - on just a general 'I'm new to writing on this site' point - does anyone know what the difference is between views and visitors? Please tell me in a review, because it's really bugging me!**

**Thanks,**

**SarcasticPerson**


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